Here are two quite different stained glass effects from houses of worship I saw Sunday (still part of Open House New York). Above are the central three of seven huge Louis Comfort Tiffany windows at St. Michael's Church
(Episcopal) on the Upper West Side. Tiffany's not really my thing, but the effect is unquestionably very impressive. What's most inspiring about Temple Emmanu-el, the world's largest synagogue (below), is that the whole building is lined with strips of reflective gold which reflect light gently but intensely (notice the middle of the photo). This gives the huge edifice a feeling at once of massiveness (the window bays are several meters deep - size of the spotlights at right should give you a sense of how big all this is; the restorer giving the tour likened it to Grand Central Terminal) and of something ethereal and mystical...
I wish I'd been better able to capture the mysterious glow, more powerful by far than the windows you actually saw, "a still small voice" of light... (but remember to click on it, and the one above, for a sharper image)
(Episcopal) on the Upper West Side. Tiffany's not really my thing, but the effect is unquestionably very impressive. What's most inspiring about Temple Emmanu-el, the world's largest synagogue (below), is that the whole building is lined with strips of reflective gold which reflect light gently but intensely (notice the middle of the photo). This gives the huge edifice a feeling at once of massiveness (the window bays are several meters deep - size of the spotlights at right should give you a sense of how big all this is; the restorer giving the tour likened it to Grand Central Terminal) and of something ethereal and mystical... 
I wish I'd been better able to capture the mysterious glow, more powerful by far than the windows you actually saw, "a still small voice" of light... (but remember to click on it, and the one above, for a sharper image)
